HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-04-11-PB-minPLANNING BOARD MINUTES
MEETING OF APRIL 11, 2001
The meeting of the Lexington Planning Board held in the Carpenter Room of the Museum of Our
National Heritage, was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Chairman Galaitsis with members Bridge - Denzak,
Chase, Davies, Harden, Planning Director Garber, and Assistant Planner McCall- Taylor present.
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Review of Minutes The Board postponed review of the minutes for the meetings of Apri12 and April 4,
2001 until the next meeting.
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Article 29 Codification Mr. Garber felt that there was a lot of misunderstanding at the last session of
Town Meeting. The guidance that he had received was that codification was basically a large -scale
reformatting and technical correction project and that a public process was not encouraged or really
feasible. He reassured the Board that staff review had been quite exhaustive and any changes had been
reviewed and flagged if they seemed substantial. He did not feel such a word by word review could be
done by a group. Mr. Davies said that he just would have liked to have known about it ahead of time.
Ms. McCall- Taylor apologized for not bringing it to the attention of the board earlier.
Article 34, Tree By -Law Ms. McCall - Taylor said that Mr. Harden had expressed his willingness to
endorse the tree by -law at the end of the last meeting and she asked the Board to retake their vote. On the
motion of Ms. Bridge - Denzak, seconded by Ms. Chase, the Board voted 5 -0 to endorse the tree by -law.
RECOMMENDATIONS ON APPLICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS
Ms. Chase recommended that the Planning Board have no comment on the following applications,
scheduled to be heard on April 12, 2 00 1:
927 -945 Waltham Street — Renewal of special permit to continue to operate a nursery and roadside
stand.
• 10 Woburn Street — Special Permit to operate a seasonal ice cream stand on the grounds of the
Gingerbread Construction Company.
• 17 Scott Road —Variance to construct an open portico over existing front steps with a front yard
setback of approximately 21 feet.
The Board did review the application for a special permit with site plan review at 475 Bedford Street, the
Lexington Club. The SPS is to replace outdoor tennis courts with an outdoor swimming pool, hard courts
and lawn facility, and to construct additional parking spaces. Ms. Bridge- Denzak did not participate in
this discussion as the landscape architect for the project is a friend and former co- worker. Ms. Chase gave
a brief summary of the issues. The Board expressed concerns that they wanted conveyed to the Zoning
Board of Appeals. These included looking at the parking requirements for the site, whether the proposal
meets current standards — was it adequate, or was it excessive? Mr. Garber said that the main planning
issue in this application is the traffic at the intersection of Bedford Street and Hartwell Avenue. Given
that the intersection is "broken ", the ZBA should look carefully at this request. This facility does not lend
itself to traffic mitigation measures. The members felt that a swimming pool could generate a lot more
traffic than a few tennis courts, as more people can use the facilities at the same tune. In addition, Mr.
Davies was concerned about the side yard setbacks. The plans show a structure within the required side
setback and he wanted to make sure this was allowed and not an oversight, using the wrong setback
figure.
Mr. Galaitsis left the meeting at this point and Ms. Bridge - Denzak assumed the chair.
Minutes for the Meeting of April 11, 2001
2
BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
Mr. Davies said that someone had discovered that the chicken coops on the Old Smith Farin site are on
the cultural inventory. The Historical Commission will have to sign off on their demolition. Mr. Davies
said that he had talked with Mr. Kelland of the commission who said that he would be willing to allow the
demolition of the coops to save the barn. Having to preserve the coops would kill the project and it is
unlikely that the barn can survive until a new project comes forward for the site.
Mr. Garber took the opportunity to inform the board that the Stabile Company, which took over the Old
Smith Farm project, will be coming before the board in the near future to get approval of a series of minor
site plan modifications.
Ms. Bridge - Denzak asked if the 87 Hancock Street discussion scheduled for April 25 could be placed on
the April 23 agenda, as she cannot make the meeting on the 25"'.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Sara B. Chase, Clerk